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Document 02015L0413-20250119
Directive (EU) 2015/413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2015 facilitating cross-border exchange of information and mutual assistance on road-safety-related traffic offences (Text with EEA relevance)
Consolidated text: Directive (EU) 2015/413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2015 facilitating cross-border exchange of information and mutual assistance on road-safety-related traffic offences (Text with EEA relevance)
Directive (EU) 2015/413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2015 facilitating cross-border exchange of information and mutual assistance on road-safety-related traffic offences (Text with EEA relevance)
02015L0413 — EN — 19.01.2025 — 001.001
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►M1 DIRECTIVE (EU) 2015/413 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 March 2015 facilitating cross-border exchange of information and mutual assistance on road-safety-related traffic offences ◄ (OJ L 068 13.3.2015, p. 9) |
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DIRECTIVE (EU) 2024/3237 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 19 December 2024 |
L 3237 |
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30.12.2024 |
DIRECTIVE (EU) 2015/413 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 11 March 2015
facilitating cross-border exchange of information and mutual assistance on road-safety-related traffic offences
(Text with EEA relevance)
Article 1
Objective
This Directive aims to ensure a high level of protection for all road users in the Union by facilitating the cross-border exchange of information on road-safety-related traffic offences and by facilitating the enforcement of sanctions, where those offences are committed with a vehicle registered in a Member State other than the Member State in which the offence took place.
Article 2
Scope
This Directive applies to the following road-safety-related traffic offences:
speeding;
failing to use a seat-belt;
failing to stop at a red traffic light;
drink-driving;
driving while under the influence of drugs;
failing to wear a safety helmet;
the use of a forbidden lane;
illegally using a mobile telephone or any other communication devices while driving;
failing to keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front;
dangerous overtaking;
dangerous parking or stopping;
crossing one or more solid lines;
wrong-way driving;
failing to respect the rules on the creation and use of emergency corridors or on giving way to emergency service vehicles;
using an overloaded vehicle;
failing to respect the rules on vehicle-access restrictions;
hit-and-run;
failing to respect the rules at a railway level-crossing.
By way of derogation from point (p) of the first subparagraph, this Directive does not apply to conduct that constitutes a failure to respect the rules on vehicle-access restrictions, in the following cases:
the information on the boundaries of restrictions, prohibitions or obligations with zonal validity, current access status and conditions for circulation in vehicle-access-restricted zones and data on permanent vehicle-access restrictions were not created and made accessible via the national access point, in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/670 ( 1 );
the driver fails to respect the rules related to charges and other fees that are to be paid before entering an area subject to vehicle-access restrictions.
This Directive shall not affect the rights and obligations stemming from the following provisions of Union legal acts:
Council Framework Decision 2005/214/JHA ( 2 );
Directive 2014/41/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 3 );
the procedures for the service of procedural documents laid down in Article 5 of the Convention established by the Council in accordance with Article 34 of the Treaty on European Union, on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union ( 4 );
Article 3
Definitions
For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions apply:
‘vehicle’ means any means of transport subject to registration according to the law of the Member State of registration or Member State of the offence which is normally used for carrying persons or goods by road, including vehicle combinations or trailers;
‘Member State of the offence’ means the Member State where the offence was committed;
‘Member State of registration’ means the Member State where the vehicle with which the offence was committed is registered;
‘speeding’ means exceeding speed limits in force in the Member State of offence for the road or type of vehicle concerned;
‘failing to use a seat-belt’ means not complying with the requirement to wear a seat-belt or to use a child restraint in accordance with Council Directive 91/671/EEC ( 11 ) and the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘failing to stop at a red traffic light’ means driving through a red traffic light or any other relevant stop signal, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘drink-driving’ means driving while impaired by alcohol, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘driving under the influence of drugs’ means driving while impaired by drugs or other substances having a similar effect, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘failing to wear a safety helmet’ means not wearing a safety helmet, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘use of a forbidden lane’ means illegally using part of an already existing permanent or temporary road section, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘illegally using a mobile telephone or any other communication devices while driving’ means illegally using a mobile telephone or any other communication devices while driving, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘national contact point’ means the authorities designated for the purposes of the automated exchange of incoming requests and outgoing responses of vehicle registration data, the incoming and outgoing requests for mutual assistance to identify the person concerned, the incoming and outgoing requests for mutual assistance to send the traffic offence notice or the follow-up documents to the person concerned and the incoming and outgoing requests and responses for mutual assistance in enforcement of final administrative decisions on road traffic fines imposed for road-safety-related traffic offences;
‘automated search’ means an online access procedure for consulting the databases of one, more than one, or all of the Member States or of the participating countries;
‘holder of the vehicle’ means the person in whose name the vehicle is registered, as defined in the law of the Member State of registration;
‘failing to keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front’ means not maintaining sufficient distance from the vehicle in front, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘dangerous overtaking’ means overtaking another vehicle or another road user in a way that infringes the applicable rules on overtaking, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘dangerous parking or stopping’ means parking or stopping the vehicle in a way that infringes the applicable rules on parking or stopping in a dangerous way, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence; failure to pay parking fees and other similar offences is not considered to be dangerous parking or stopping;
‘crossing one or more solid lines’ means changing lanes with the vehicle illegally crossing at least one solid line, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘wrong-way driving’ means driving a vehicle against the designated direction of traffic, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘failing to respect the rules on the creation and use of emergency corridors or on giving way to emergency service vehicles’ means not complying with the applicable rules to enable emergency service vehicles, such as police vehicles, rescue vehicles or fire trucks, to pass through and arrive to the site of emergency, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘using an overloaded vehicle’ means using a vehicle that does not comply with the requirements set for its maximum authorised weight or maximum authorised axle weight, as laid down in the national laws, regulations or administrative provisions transposing Council Directive 96/53/EC ( 12 ), or in the law of the Member State of the offence for vehicles or operations for which no such requirements are set in that Directive;
‘traffic offence notice’ means the first decision or any other document issued by the competent authority of the Member State of the offence to the person concerned;
‘follow-up document’ means any decision or any other document that the competent authority of the Member State of the offence issues after the traffic offence notice in connection to that notice or to the road-safety-related traffic offence in question, until the stage of appeal before a competent authority with the power to adopt legally binding decisions;
‘person concerned’ means a person who is identified in accordance with the law of the Member State of the offence as personally liable for a road-safety-related traffic offence listed in Article 2(1) or the holder, owner end user or driver of the vehicle with which a road-safety-related traffic offence listed in Article 2(1) was committed, even if not identified as personally liable in accordance with the national law of the Member State of the offence;
‘end user’ means any person who is not the holder or the owner of the vehicle, but another person indicated in the vehicle register of the Member State of registration, who is allowed to use that vehicle or be responsible for its day-to-day operation, in particular under a long-term lease or rental contract or as part of a vehicle fleet available to employees;
‘Member State of residence’ means any Member State that can be assumed to a reasonable degree of certainty to be the place of normal residence of the person concerned;
‘failing to respect the rules on vehicle-access restrictions’ means not respecting clearly and visibly demarcated access regulations set for all or certain vehicle categories for the purposes of road safety, such as pedestrian and school zones, and cycling lanes, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘hit-and-run’ means a situation in which the driver drives away after causing an accident or traffic collision in order to avoid facing the consequences of the accident or traffic collision, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘failing to respect the rules at a railway level-crossing’ means failing to stop at a railway level-crossing or acting in a dangerous way at a railway level-crossing, as defined in the law of the Member State of the offence;
‘competent authority’ means the authority responsible for the registration of vehicles or driving licences, for the initiation of the follow-up proceedings or the investigation of road-safety-related traffic offences listed in Article 2(1) or for the enforcement of relevant sanctions, in accordance with the law of its Member State.
Article 3a
National contact points
Each Member State shall designate one or more national contact points for:
the automated exchange of vehicle registration data (VRD) in accordance with Article 4;
incoming and outgoing requests and responses for mutual assistance to identify the person concerned in accordance with Article 5c;
incoming and outgoing requests and responses for mutual assistance to serve the traffic offence notice or follow-up documents to the person concerned in accordance with Article 5e; and
incoming and outgoing requests and responses for mutual assistance to enforce final administrative decisions on road traffic fines imposed for road-safety-related traffic offences in accordance with Article 5f.
The powers of the national contact points shall be governed by the applicable law of the Member State concerned.
Article 4
Procedures for the exchange of VRD and mutual assistance between Member States
For the investigation of road-safety-related traffic offences listed in Article 2(1) detected on the territory of the Member State of the offence, the Member State of registration shall grant to the national contact points of the Member State of the offence access to the following national VRD, with the power to conduct automated searches thereon:
data relating to vehicles;
data relating to holders and, where available, owners and end users of the vehicles.
The data elements referred to in the first subparagraph, points (a) and (b), which are necessary to conduct a search shall be those set out in the Annex.
The competent authority of the Member State of the offence shall ensure that each outgoing request includes the name of the competent authority making the request, the username of the person handling the request and the case number of the request.
Where it is established that a road-safety-related traffic offence has been committed with a vehicle, the competent authority of the Member State of the offence may subsequently request access, via its national contact point, to the personal data relating to the person concerned listed in Section 2, Part I and Parts III to VI, of the Annex.
The national contact point of the Member State of registration shall ensure that, when accessing VRD, the competent authorities of the Member State of the offence receive a specific message informing them, in at least the following cases, that:
at the time of the offence, the vehicle was recorded as destroyed;
at the time of the offence, the vehicle was recorded as stolen in any national register;
at the time of the offence, the vehicle registration plate was recorded as stolen in any national register;
at the time of the offence, no information of the vehicle can be found in any national register;
the search input has been detected as not correct, based on some national syntax requirements;
the requested information cannot be disclosed if it would reveal the identity of a person protected in accordance with the law of the Member State of registration.
Article 4a
National vehicle registers
Article 5
Traffic offence notice
Where the competent authority of the Member State of the offence decides to initiate such proceedings, that competent authority shall, within the time limit set out in Article 5a(2), issue a traffic offence notice informing the person concerned about the road-safety-related traffic offence and, where appropriate, of the decision to initiate follow-up proceedings.
The traffic offence notice may serve purposes other than those set out in the second subparagraph that are needed for enforcement, such as a request for the disclosure of the identity and address of the person liable for the road-safety-related traffic offence, an inquiry regarding whether the person concerned admits or denies the commission of the road-safety-related traffic offence or a request for payment.
The traffic offence notice shall contain at least the following information:
an indication that the traffic offence notice is issued for the purposes of this Directive;
the name, postal address, telephone number and email address of the competent authority of the Member State of the offence;
all relevant information concerning the road-safety-related traffic offence, in particular data on the vehicle with which the offence was committed, including the vehicle registration number, the place, date and time of the offence, the nature of the offence, detailed reference to the legal provisions infringed and, where appropriate, data concerning the device used for detecting the offence;
detailed information on the legal classification of the road-safety-related traffic offence, the applicable sanctions and other legal consequences of the road-safety-related traffic offence, including information related to driving disqualifications (including penalty points or other restrictions imposed on the right to drive), in accordance with the law of the Member State of the offence;
detailed information on where, when and how to exercise rights of defence or on where, when and how to appeal the decision to pursue the road-safety-related traffic offence, including the requirements for the admissibility of such an appeal and the time limit for lodging the appeal, and on whether and under what conditions in absentia procedures apply, in accordance with the law of the Member State of the offence;
where applicable, information on measures taken to identify the person concerned in accordance with Article 5d and the consequences of non-cooperation;
where applicable, detailed information on the name, address and International Bank Account Number (IBAN) of the authority where an imposed financial penalty can be settled, on the deadline for the payment and on viable alternative and accessible payment methods, in particular specific software applications, as long as those methods are accessible to both residents and non-residents;
clear and comprehensive information on the applicable data protection rules and the rights of the data subjects, including an indication of the place from which it is possible to retrieve the information provided pursuant to Article 13 of Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 13 ), or pursuant to Articles 13 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 14 ), including information on the source from which the personal data originate, or an indication that the generally applicable data protection rules are available on the CBE Portal referred to in Article 8 of this Directive;
where applicable, detailed information on whether and how the sanctions for road-safety-related traffic offences listed in Article 2(1) can be mitigated, including by early payment of a financial penalty;
during the transitional period referred to in Article 5h(2), and where applicable, a clear indication that the private legal entity which sends the traffic offence notice is empowered by the competent authority of the Member State of the offence, as referred to in Article 5h(1), and a clean delineation between the amounts of monies claimed, based on their legal ground;
a link and, if possible, a QR code to the CBE Portal referred to in Article 8.
The competent authority of the Member State of the offence shall ensure that a non-resident driver receives a traffic offence notice referred to in paragraph 2, where:
the non-resident driver was checked on the spot in a roadside check; and
the competent authority of the Member State of the offence has not enforced the sanction related to the committed offence on the spot.
The traffic offence notice shall be sent to the non-resident driver, in accordance with Article 5a(1) and (2).
The competent authority of the Member State of the offence shall ensure that, where a non-resident driver was checked on the spot in a roadside check and where that competent authority has enforced the sanction related to the committed offence on the spot, that non-resident driver receives at least the following:
a receipt for the financial transaction or a financial penalty charge notice to be paid within a specific period of time;
contact information of the competent authority;
information on the offences committed and, if relevant, how to ensure compliance in the future;
if possible, a link or a QR code to the CBE Portal referred to in Article 8.
The documents and information referred to in the first subparagraph shall be provided in one of the official languages of the Member State of the offence or any other official language of the institutions of the Union deemed appropriate by the competent authority of the Member State of the offence.
Article 5a
Service of the traffic offence notice and follow-up documents
Where the automated searches referred to in Article 4(1) were not successful or the competent authority of the Member State of the offence was unable to establish the identity and address of the holder, owner or end user of the vehicle with the degree of certainty required by its national law, the traffic offence notice shall be issued no later than 5 months after the competent authority of the Member State of the offence has established this information.
Article 5b
Translation of the traffic offence notice and essential follow-up documents
For the purposes of this Article, the competent authorities of the Member State of the offence shall decide whether a follow-up document is essential. However, the competent authorities shall take into account the fact that the person concerned needs to understand the accusations and be able to fully exercise the rights of defence. This includes, in particular, all relevant information concerning the offence, the nature of the offence committed, the sanction imposed, the legal remedies available against that decision, the time limit laid down for that purpose and the identification of the body before which the appeal must be lodged.
Article 5c
Mutual assistance in identifying the person concerned
The request for mutual assistance may be initiated only by the competent authority of the Member State of the offence, in accordance with the law of that Member State.
The competent authority of the Member State of the offence shall use the data obtained by mutual assistance in order to establish the identity of the person who is personally liable for the road-safety-related traffic offence listed in Article 2(1) committed on the territory of the Member State of the offence.
The competent authority of the Member State of the offence may request the Member State of registration or Member State of residence:
to establish the identity and address of the person concerned, in accordance with the law of the Member State of registration or Member State of residence, including by using national databases such as driving licence registers or population registers;
to ask the holder, owner or end user of the vehicle with which the road-safety-related traffic offence was committed to provide information on the identity, address and, where available, other contact details of the person liable for the road-safety-related traffic offence, in accordance with the national procedures of the Member State of registration or Member State of residence, which are to be applied as if the investigative measure concerned were ordered by that Member State’s own authorities.
The electronically structured request shall include the following information:
data elements relating to the person concerned obtained as a result of the automated search conducted in accordance with Article 4(1);
if available, the visual recording of the driver retrieved from detection equipment, in particular speed cameras;
data relating to the road-safety-related traffic offence, listed in Article 2(1);
data relating to the vehicle with which the road-safety-related traffic offence was committed;
a reason for the request for mutual assistance.
Without any undue delay and no later than 2 months from the day that the competent authority of the Member State of registration or Member State of residence has gathered the requested information, it shall respond to the request electronically via its national contact point.
The competent authority of the Member State of registration or Member State of residence shall comply with the formalities and procedures expressly requested by the competent authority of the Member State of the offence, when gathering the requested information, to the extent that they are not incompatible with their national legislation.
The competent authority of the Member State of registration or Member State of residence may refuse to provide the requested additional information referred to in paragraph 5. It shall do so only in one or more of the following cases:
there is an immunity or a privilege under the law of the Member State of the registration or Member State of residence, which makes it impossible to provide the information;
providing the requested information would be contrary to the principle of ne bis in idem;
providing the requested information would jeopardise an ongoing investigation of a criminal offence;
providing the requested information would be contrary to or would harm the essential interests of the national security of the Member State of registration or Member State of residence, jeopardise the source of the information or involve the use of classified information relating to specific intelligence activities;
there are substantial grounds to believe that providing the requested information would be incompatible with the obligations of the Member State of registration or Member State of residence in accordance with Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;
providing the requested information would jeopardise the safety of an individual or reveal the identity of a person protected in accordance with the law of the Member State of registration or Member State of residence.
No later than 2 months from the day when the competent authority of the Member State of registration or Member State of residence decides to apply a ground for refusal, or establishes that it is not possible to gather the requested information, it shall inform the Member State of the offence thereof via its national contact point. The competent authority of the Member State of registration or Member State of residence may decide not to specify which ground of refusal it applies in the cases referred to in the first subparagraph, points (c), (d) and (f).
Article 5d
National measures facilitating the identification of the liable person
The competent authorities may, in particular:
serve documents to persons concerned in relation to road-safety-related traffic offences listed in Article 2(1), including documents asking the persons concerned to confirm their liability for the road-safety-related traffic offences;
apply obligations, including related sanctions, placed on persons concerned which are relevant to the identification of the liable person, to the furthest possible extent.
Article 5e
Mutual assistance in the service of the traffic offence notice and follow-up documents
The competent authority of the Member State of the offence may send the traffic offence notice or follow-up documents to the persons concerned via the competent authorities of the Member State of registration or Member State of residence, in the following cases:
the address of the person for whom the document is intended is unknown, incomplete or uncertain;
the procedural rules under the law of the Member State of the offence require proof of service of the document, other than proof that can be obtained by post, registered delivery, registered mail or by equivalent electronic means referred to in Article 5a(1);
it has not been possible to serve the document by post, registered delivery, registered mail or by equivalent electronic means referred to in Article 5a(1);
the Member State of the offence has justified reasons for considering that the service of the document by post, registered delivery, registered mail or by equivalent electronic means referred to in Article 5a(1) in that particular case will be ineffective or is inappropriate.
The competent authorities of the Member State of the offence and of the Member State of registration or the Member State of residence shall communicate with each other via their respective national contact points.
The Member State of registration or Member State of residence shall ensure that their competent authority provides an electronically structured response including:
where the delivery is successful, the date of service and data about the person receiving the document;
where the delivery is not successful, a reason for failing to deliver the traffic offence notice or the follow-up document.
The response of a successful delivery shall be considered as a proof of service of the document.
Article 5f
Mutual assistance in enforcement activities
The request referred to in paragraph 2 shall be made only if all of the following conditions are met:
the decision on a road traffic fine is of an administrative nature, final and enforceable according to the applicable laws and regulations of the Member State of the offence;
the Member State of the offence is in possession of a proof of service to the person concerned of the request for the payment of the road traffic fine;
the person concerned was informed of and had an opportunity to exercise the legal remedies against the administrative decision imposing a road traffic fine according to the applicable laws and regulations of the Member State of the offence;
the road traffic fine is higher than EUR 70.
The competent authority of the Member State of registration or Member State of residence may refuse to recognise and enforce the administrative decision on a road traffic fine. It shall do so only if it has established any of the following:
the enforcement of the decision on a road traffic fine would be contrary to the principle ne bis in idem;
there is immunity under the law of the Member State of registration or Member State of residence, which makes it impossible to enforce the administrative decision on a road traffic fine;
the decision on a road traffic fine is no longer enforceable under the law of the Member State of registration or Member State of residence due to lapse of time;
the decision on a road traffic fine is not final;
the decision on a road traffic fine or at least its essential content is not translated as provided for in Article 5b;
the request is incomplete and cannot be completed by the competent authorities of the Member State of the offence;
the infringement of fundamental rights or fundamental legal principles as enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
If a request is rejected, the competent authority of the Member State of the registration or the Member State of the residence shall notify the competent authority of the Member State of the offence, stating the reasons for the rejection.
Article 5g
Technical specifications for the exchange of VRD and mutual assistance
Member States shall ensure that the processing of data is secure, cost-efficient, expeditious and reliable, and carried out by interoperable means within a decentralised structure.
When establishing the implementing acts, the Commission shall take into account the following considerations:
the competent authorities are to have the possibility to identify direct and indirect access when the request does not come from a known member of the electronic communication platform;
the competent authorities are to have the possibility to consult the requests in order to guarantee that they are duly justified and comply with the requirements of this Directive;
the need to establish processes to enable Member States to take appropriate measures in response to automatic alerts and to abnormal requests, in order to mitigate the risks for the data, as well as to organise the cooperation between Member States on risk monitoring, management and mitigation, in particular for not sending data in response to abnormal requests as a derogation to Article 4(1);
the Member State of registration is to have the possibility to request the details of the road-safety-related traffic offence prior to the transmission of the registration data to the Member State of the offence, and to refuse the transmission of the registration data if the Member State of the offence does not reply to that request within one month;
the need for a journal of consultations leading to automatic alerts to the members in the case of abnormal requests;
where the competent authorities are to have the possibility to exchange data in synchronous single mode and where they are to have the possibility to exchange data in asynchronous batch mode.
Article 5h
Private legal entities
Article 6
Reporting and monitoring
The report shall also include a description of the situation at national level in relation to the follow-up given to the road-safety-related traffic offences and any related problems encountered by Member States. The description shall at least specify:
the total number of registered road-safety-related traffic offences listed in Article 2(1) which were detected automatically or without the identification of the person concerned on the spot;
the number of registered road-safety-related traffic offences listed in Article 2(1) which were committed with vehicles registered in a Member State other than the Member State in which the offence took place and detected automatically or without the identification of the person concerned on the spot;
the number of fixed or removable automatic detection equipment, including speed cameras;
the number of financial penalties paid voluntarily by non-residents;
the number of electronically transmitted mutual assistance requests and responses in accordance with Article 5c and the number of such requests where the information was not provided;
the number of electronically transmitted mutual assistance requests and responses in accordance with Article 5e and the number of such requests where it was not possible to serve the documents;
the number of electronically transmitted mutual assistance requests and responses in accordance with Article 5f, the number of such requests where it was possible to enforce the sanctions and the number of such requests where it was not possible to enforce the sanctions.
Article 7
Additional obligations
Legal entities in their quality as holders, owners or end users of vehicles subject to the data exchange of this Directive shall have the right to obtain information on the processing of their data.
Member States shall inform each other on cybersecurity incidents, notified pursuant to Article 23 of Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 17 ), where the incidents relate to data stored in virtual or physical clouds or cloud-hosting services.
Article 7a
Financial support for cross-border cooperation
The Commission shall provide financial support to initiatives that contribute to cross-border cooperation in the enforcement of road-safety-related traffic rules in the Union, in particular the exchange of best practices, the application of smart enforcement methodologies and techniques in the Member States, increasing the capacity building of enforcement authorities. Financial support may also be provided for awareness raising campaigns regarding cross-border enforcement of road-safety-related traffic rules and information campaigns throughout the Union on differences in national legislation.
Article 8
Information portal on road-safety-related traffic offences (CBE Portal)
Article 8a
Bilateral and multilateral agreements between Member States
This Directive shall not preclude the application of bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements between Member States in so far as such agreements or arrangements contain additional requirements to those imposed by this Directive and help to simplify or facilitate further the procedures set out herein.
Article 9
Delegated acts
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 10 to amend the Annex by updating it in the light of technical progress or where this is required by legal acts of the Union directly relevant to the updating of the Annex.
Article 10
Exercise of the delegation
Article 10a
Committee procedure
Where the committee delivers no opinion, the Commission shall not adopt the draft implementing act and Article 5(4), third subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
Article 10b
Reporting by the Commission
By 20 July 2030 and thereafter, every 18 months after receiving the reports referred to in Article 6(2), the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the application of this Directive by the Member States.
Article 10c
Transitional reporting
By 6 May 2026, Member States shall send a comprehensive report to the Commission in accordance with the second and third subparagraph of this Article.
The comprehensive report shall indicate the number of automated searches conducted by the Member State of the offence addressed to the national contact points of the Member States of registration, following offences committed on its territory, together with the type of offences for which requests were addressed and the number of failed requests.
The comprehensive report shall also include a description of the situation at national level in relation to the follow-up given to the road-safety-related traffic offences, based on the proportion of such offences which have been followed up by traffic offence notices.
Article 11
Revision
By 20 July 2030, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the application of this Directive by the Member States. The report shall be accompanied, if appropriate, by a proposal to the European Parliament and the Council for further revision of this Directive regarding the inclusion of other offences, in so far as Member States’ data show their positive and quantifiable effects on road safety.
Article 12
Transposition
When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.
By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland may postpone the deadline referred to in the first subparagraph until 6 May 2017.
Article 13
Entry into force
This Directive shall enter into force on the fourth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 14
Addressees
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
ANNEX
Data elements necessary to conduct the search referred to in Articles 4(1) and (3)
1. Data elements of initiating search (outgoing request)
Item |
M (1) |
Remarks |
Member State of registration |
M |
Distinguishing sign (2) of the Member State of registration of the vehicle |
Registration number |
M |
Full registration number of the vehicle |
Data relating to the offence and/or vehicle check |
|
|
Location of the offence or vehicle check |
M |
Address or road kilometre marking of where the offence or vehicle check took place |
Member State of the offence and/or vehicle check |
M |
Distinguishing sign (2) of the Member State of the offence |
Competent authority |
M |
Name of the competent authority which is in charge of requesting the data or in charge of the proceedings |
Username |
M |
Username of the person, who is in charge of requesting the data or in charge of the proceedings |
Case number |
M |
Case number provided by the competent authority which is in charge of requesting the data or in charge of the proceedings |
Reference date of the offence and/or vehicle check |
M |
|
Reference time of the offence and/or vehicle check |
M |
|
Purpose of the search |
M |
Code indicating the type of road-safety-related traffic offence as listed in Article 2(1) 1. = Speeding 2. = Drink-driving 3. = Failing to use a seat belt 4. = Failing to stop at a red traffic light 5. = Use of a forbidden lane 10. = Driving under the influence of drugs 11. = Failing to wear a safety helmet 12. = Illegally using a mobile phone or any other communication devices while driving 14. = Failing to keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front 15. = Dangerous overtaking 16. = Dangerous parking or stopping 17. = Crossing one or more solid lines 18. = Wrong-way driving 19. = Failing to respect the rules on the creation and use of emergency corridors or on giving way to emergency service vehicles 20. = Using an overloaded vehicle 33. = Failing to respect the rules on vehicle-access restrictions 34. = Hit-and-run 35. = Failing to respect the rules at a railway level-crossing |
(1)
M = mandatory communication of the data element.
(2)
Distinguishing sign in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention on road traffic, done at Vienna on 8 November 1968, or the code of a EUCARIS member State. |
2. Data elements provided as a result of the initiating search conducted pursuant to Article 4(1) and (3)
Part I. Data relating to vehicles provided in accordance with Article 4(1) and (3)
Item |
M/O (2) |
Remarks (3) |
Registration number |
M |
(Code A) Full registration number of the vehicle |
Chassis number/VIN (1) |
M |
(Code E) Full chassis number/VIN of the vehicle |
Member State of registration |
M |
Distinguishing sign (4) of the Member State of registration of the vehicle |
Make |
M |
(Code D.1) Make of the vehicle e.g. Ford, Opel, Renault |
Commercial description(s) |
M |
(Code D.3) Commercial description of the vehicle e.g. Focus, Astra, Megane |
EU category code |
M |
(Code J) e.g. N1, M2, N2, L, T |
First registration date |
M |
(Code B) Date of the first registration of the vehicle |
Last registration date |
M |
(Code I) Date of the last registration of the vehicle |
Language |
M |
Language of the registration document of the vehicle |
Previous inquiries |
O |
The dates of previous inquiries on the vehicle |
(1)
VIN = vehicle identification number.
(2)
M = Mandatory communication of the data element when available in any national register of a Member State, O = Optional communication of the data element.
(3)
The codes are harmonised according to Annex I and II to Council Directive 1999/37/EC of 29 April 1999 on the registration documents for vehicles (OJ L 138, 1.6.1999, p. 57).
(4)
Distinguishing sign in accordance with Article 37 of the Convention on road traffic, done at Vienna on 8 November 1968, or the code of a EUCARIS member State. |
Part II. Data relating to vehicles provided in accordance with Article 4(1) and (3)
Item |
M/O (1) |
Remarks (2) |
Maximum technically permissible laden mass except for motorcycles |
M |
(Code F.1) |
Maximum permissible laden mass of the vehicle in service in the Member State of registration |
M |
(Code F.2) |
Maximum permissible laden mass of the whole vehicle in service in the Member State of registration |
M |
(Code F.3) |
Mass of the vehicle in service with bodywork and with coupling device in the case of a towing vehicle in service from any category other than M1 (in kg) |
M |
(Code G) |
Number of axles |
M |
(Code L) |
Wheelbase (in mm) |
M |
(Code M) |
For vehicles with a total mass exceeding 3 500 kg, distribution of the technically permissible maximum laden mass among the axles: |
M |
|
axle 1 (in kg) |
(Code N.1) |
|
axle 2 (in kg), where appropriate |
(Code N.2) |
|
axle 3 (in kg), where appropriate |
(Code N.3) |
|
axle 4 (in kg), where appropriate |
(Code N.4) |
|
axle 5 (in kg), where appropriate |
(Code N.5) |
|
Technically permissible maximum towable mass of the trailer: |
M |
|
braked (in kg) |
(Code O.1) |
|
unbraked (in kg) |
(Code O.2) |
|
Engine: |
O |
|
Type of fuel or power source |
|
(Code P.3) |
EURO type |
O |
(Code V.9) |
(1)
M = Mandatory communication of the data element when available in any national register of a Member State, O = Optional communication of the data element.
(2)
The codes are harmonised according to Annex I and II to Council Directive 1999/37/EC of 29 April 1999 on the registration documents for vehicles (OJ L 138, 1.6.1999, p. 57). |
Part III. Data relating to holders and owners of the vehicles
Item |
M/O (1) |
Remarks (2) |
Data relating to holders of the vehicle |
|
(Code C.1) The data refer to the holder of the specific registration certificate |
Surname or business name |
M |
(Code C.1.1) Separate fields shall be used for surname or business name, infixes and titles communicated in printable format |
First name |
M |
(Code C.1.2) Separate fields for first name(s) and initials communicated in printable format shall be used |
Address |
M |
(Code C.1.3) Separate fields shall be used for street, house number and annex, postal code, place of residence, country of residence, etc., and the address in printable format shall be communicated |
Electronic means of communication |
O |
Email address for electronic registered delivery services in accordance with Article 5a(1) |
Gender |
O |
Male, female |
Date of birth |
M |
|
Legal entity |
M |
Natural or legal person |
Place of birth |
O |
|
ID number |
M |
An identifier that uniquely identifies the person or the company |
Data relating to owners of the vehicle |
|
(Code C.2) The data refer to the owner of the vehicle |
Surname or business name |
M |
(Code C.2.1) Separate fields shall be used for surname or business name, infixes and titles communicated in printable format |
First name |
M |
(Code C.2.2) Separate fields for first name(s) and initials communicated in printable format shall be used |
Address |
M |
(Code C.2.3) |
Electronic means of communication |
O |
Email address for electronic registered delivery services in accordance with Article 5a(1) |
Gender |
O |
Male, female |
Date of birth |
M |
|
Legal entity |
M |
Natural or legal person |
Place of birth |
O |
|
ID number |
M |
An identifier that uniquely identifies the person or the company |
(1)
M = Mandatory communication of the data element when available in any national register of a Member State, O = Optional communication of the data element.
(2)
The codes are harmonised according to Annex I and II to Council Directive 1999/37/EC of 29 April 1999 on the registration documents for vehicles (OJ L 138, 1.6.1999, p. 57). |
Part IV. Data relating to end users of the vehicles
Item |
M/O (1) |
Remarks |
Data relating to end users of the vehicle |
|
The data refer to the end user of the vehicle |
Surname or business name |
M |
Separate fields shall be used for surname or business name, infixes and titles communicated in printable format |
First name |
M |
Separate fields for first name(s) and initials communicated in printable format shall be used |
Address |
M |
Separate fields shall be used for street, house number and annex, postal code, place of residence, country of residence, etc., and the address in printable format shall be communicated |
Electronic means of communication |
O |
Email address for electronic registered delivery services in accordance with Article 5a(1) |
Gender |
O |
Male, female |
Date of birth |
M |
|
Legal entity |
M |
Natural or legal person |
Place of birth |
O |
|
ID number |
M |
An identifier that uniquely identifies the person or the company |
(1)
M = Mandatory communication of the data element when available in any national register of a Member State, O = Optional communication of the data element. |
Part V. Data at the time when the road-safety-related traffic offence was committed relating to previous holder and owner of the vehicle which is subject to the intitiating search in Section 1 of this Annex, in accordance with Article 4a(2)
Item |
M/O (1) |
Remarks (2) |
Data relating to previous holders of the vehicle |
|
(Code C.1) The data refer to the holder of the specific registration certificate |
Surname or business name |
M |
(Code C.1.1) Separate fields shall be used for surname or business name, infixes and titles communicated in printable format |
First name |
M |
(Code C.1.2) Separate fields for first name(s) and initials communicated in printable format shall be used |
Address |
M |
(Code C.1.3) Separate fields shall be used for street, house number and annex, postal code, place of residence, country of residence, etc., and the address in printable format shall be communicated |
Electronic means of communication |
O |
E-mail address for electronic registered delivery services in accordance with Article 5a(1) |
Gender |
O |
Male, female |
Date of birth |
M |
|
Legal entity |
M |
Natural or legal person |
Place of birth |
O |
|
ID number |
M |
An identifier that uniquely identifies the person or the company |
Data relating to previous owners of the vehicle |
|
(Code C.2) The data refer to the previous owner of the vehicle. |
Surname or business name |
M |
(Code C.2.1) Separate fields shall be used for surname or business name, infixes and titles communicated in printable format |
First name |
M |
(Code C.2.2) Separate fields for first name(s) and initials communicated in printable format shall be used |
Address |
M |
(Code C.2.3) |
Electronic means of communication |
O |
E-mail address for electronic registered delivery services in accordance with Article 5a(1) |
Gender |
O |
Male, female |
Date of birth |
M |
|
Legal entity |
M |
Natural or legal person |
Place of birth |
O |
|
ID number |
M |
An identifier that uniquely identifies the person or the company |
(1)
M = Mandatory communication of the data element when available in any national register of a Member State, O = Optional communication of the data element.
(2)
The codes are harmonised according to Annex I and II to Council Directive 1999/37/EC of 29 April 1999 on the registration documents for vehicles (OJ L 138, 1.6.1999, p. 57). |
Part VI. Data at the time when the offence was committed relating to previous end user of the vehicle which is subject to the intitiating search in Section 1 of this Annex, in accordance with Article 4a(2)
Item |
M/O (1) |
Remarks |
Data relating to previous end users of the vehicle |
|
The data refer to previous end user of the vehicle |
Surname or business name |
M |
Separate fields shall be used for surname or business name, infixes and titles communicated in printable format |
First name |
M |
Separate fields for first name(s) and initials communicated in printable format shall be used |
Address |
M |
Separate fields shall be used for street, house number and annex, postal code, place of residence, country of residence, etc., and the address in printable format shall be communicated |
Electronic means of communication |
O |
Email address for electronic registered delivery services in accordance with Article 5a(1) |
Gender |
O |
Male, female |
Date of birth |
M |
|
Legal entity |
M |
Natural or legal person |
Place of birth |
O |
|
ID number |
M |
An identifier that uniquely identifies the person or the company |
(1)
M = Mandatory communication of the data element when available in any national register of a Member State, O = Optional communication of the data element. |
▼M1 —————
( 1 ) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/670 of 2 February 2022 supplementing Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the provision of EU-wide real-time traffic information services (OJ L 122, 25.4.2022, p. 1).
( 2 ) Council Framework Decision 2005/214/JHA of 24 February 2005 on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to financial penalties (OJ L 76, 22.3.2005, p. 16).
( 3 ) Directive 2014/41/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 regarding the European Investigation Order in criminal matters (OJ L 130, 1.5.2014, p. 1).
( 4 ) OJ C 197, 12.7.2000, p. 3.
( 5 ) Directive 2010/64/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings (OJ L 280, 26.10.2010, p. 1).
( 6 ) Directive 2012/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012 on the right to information in criminal proceedings (OJ L 142, 1.6.2012, p. 1).
( 7 ) Directive 2013/48/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and in European arrest warrant proceedings, and on the right to have a third party informed upon deprivation of liberty and to communicate with third persons and with consular authorities while deprived of liberty (OJ L 294, 6.11.2013, p. 1).
( 8 ) Directive (EU) 2016/343 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings (OJ L 65, 11.3.2016, p. 1).
( 9 ) Directive (EU) 2016/800 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on procedural safeguards for children who are suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings (OJ L 132, 21.5.2016, p. 1).
( 10 ) Directive (EU) 2016/1919 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on legal aid for suspects and accused persons in criminal proceedings and for requested persons in European arrest warrant proceedings (OJ L 297, 4.11.2016, p. 1).
( 11 ) Council Directive 91/671/EEC of 16 December 1991 relating to the compulsory use of safety belts and child-restraint systems in vehicles (OJ L 373, 31.12.1991, p. 26).
( 12 ) Council Directive 96/53/EC of 25 July 1996 laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorized dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorized weights in international traffic (OJ L 235, 17.9.1996, p. 59).
( 13 ) Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 89).
( 14 ) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).
( 15 ) Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC (OJ L 257, 28.8.2014, p. 73).
( 16 ) Council Decision 2008/616/JHA of 23 June 2008 on the implementation of Decision 2008/615/JHA on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism and cross-border crime (OJ L 210, 6.8.2008, p. 12).
( 17 ) Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and Directive (EU) 2018/1972, and repealing Directive (EU) 2016/1148 (NIS 2 Directive) (OJ L 333, 27.12.2022, p. 80).
( 18 ) Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 October 2018 establishing a single digital gateway to provide access to information, to procedures and to assistance and problem-solving services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 1).
( 19 ) Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).